Gag Ya Later: How We Get Rid of Gagging During Impressions

Your mom always told you to watch your words and mind your manners so that you wouldn’t leave a bad impression on those around you. And although it’s good to make a lasting impression with a strong personality and sense of self, it’s equally as important to make a lasting impression when you come into our office with a dental impression. As one of the most dreaded parts of getting braces, a retainer, a dental bridge, and dentures, we have to make impressions of your mouth. Impressions are what we use to create a custom mold so that we know exactly what tweaks and adjustments need to be made when we are straightening your smile. However, a lot of our patients don’t like getting these oral impressions done because they make them gag. Here at Janice Scott’s office, we like to ensure that our patients are comfortable and relaxed the entire time they’re in one of our chairs. As such, we have a variety of options to help you with your gag reflex. If you are a gagger and hate getting impressions, this article is for you. Read on to learn more.

An Anesthetic Spray

One of the first options that we may try to help calm your gag reflex during a dental impression is an anesthetic spray. By spraying your roof with this spray, you won’t feel the impression tray at all. We will also make sure that the material doesn’t extend outside of these areas to cause any additional gagging sensations.

Smaller Trays

If the anesthetic spray doesn’t work or if you want to try something else, we can create smaller trays. A lot of times, we find that if we use smaller trays for the imprints, patients are less likely to have an adverse reaction or gag reflex.

Less Product

A lot of times, patients tend to gag when too much of the molding product is applied to the tray. To help combat this reaction, we can use less of the solution to the tray so that you won’t have

If you have a strong gag reflex, we have a variety of options to use to keep you comfortable during your impressions. To learn more about these options or to schedule an appointment, call Dr. Janice Scott today at (209) 478-3036!